Oregon Beer News, 04/12/2012

Here’s the news in Oregon beer for Thursday, April 12. Tomorrow is Friday the 13th! I don’t know if there is any specifically “Friday the 13th” themed beers but maybe something “lucky”? (Too bad they don’t make Lucky Lager anymore…) As usual I’ll be periodically updating this post throughout the day, so check back for updates. And if you have news to share please let me know and I can get it updated as well.

Full Sail Brewing (Hood River): Today is the last Brewmaster Dinner of the season, and they’re going out with a bang! Seven courses (up from the usual four) paired with seven Full Sail beers all for $40 which is a great deal. The menu looks very “spring themed” to me too, with caprese, a brie tartlet, scallops, and more. Dinner starts at 5pm and is first-come, first-served until they run out.

The Green Dragon (Portland) is hosting a meet the brewer event tonight with Eugene’s Ninkasi Brewing, from 5 to 8pm. Brewer Jamie Floyd will be on hand to pour beer and ask questions, and they’ll have several beers available: Total Domination IPA, Tricerahops Double IPA, Believer Red Ale, Spring Reign, and a “special release.” My guess as to the special release? Either their super-limited Commonwealth or the newly-released-this-week Helles Belles.

McMenamins Edgefield (Troutdale) is having a limited-edition beer tasting today at their Distillery Bar: Marlow’s Heart, a 6.7% abv foreign export stout aged in Edgefield’s Hogshead Whiskey barrels for four weeks: “Flavors of chocolate, roast malt, whiskey, and fired-oak provide strong, deep undercurrents while ethereal wisps of vanilla and caramel mark your passage further into the gathering mists of dusk.” The tasting starts at 5pm and lasts until the beer is gone.

Upright Brewing (Portland): “Tomorrow we release Apricot Seven in the Sole Composition series bottles at the Tasting Room.” (via Facebook) Upright’s Seven is a year-round bottled beer already, so I’m assuming this was aged on apricot, and it would surprise me at all if a barrel or two was involved.

Bend Brewing (Bend): They just put TNT Russian Imperial Stout on tap today—an 11.2% abv behemoth that was a collaboration brew 3 years ago between Tonya Cornett and master homebrewer and Grand Master BJCP Judge Ted Hausotter from Baker City (both of whom I’ve met). Get it while it lasts! I picked up a growler at lunch today and it’s fantastic.